Ist time cruising family from Michigan needs to know best place to fly into (in FLA) and best itinerary for 3-4 night "sampler " of cruising. Don't like Key West particularly..Going at XMAS with elderly mother and my kids- Help! I feel like an idiot at this! Thanks

There are several Florida ports from which you can sail on short cruises. I recommend Port Canaveral, from which three cruise lines sail on 3- and 4-day cruises: Disney, Carnival and Royal Caribbean. They all visit the Bahamas (Nassau and/or Freeport). The nearest airport is Orlando Intl., about a 1-hour ride from the port. And of course, while in Orlando you can also visit Disney World, Universal Orlando, Sea World or any of the many other area attractions.

At Christmas time I would suggest Miami or Ft Lauderdale as the temps will be warmer than Cape Canaveral. Also, theme parks at holdays times are usually packed with extra visitors and lines are much longer.

I agree with Jack. Flying into Orlando is usually cheaper than FLL or Miami. Port Canaveral has 3 and 4 day cruises. The 3-day cruises on Carnival Fantasy and RCI Sovereign of the Seas sail Thursday night through Sunday morning and the 4-day cruises sail Sunday night through Thursday morning.

They both sail to Nassau, The Bahamas, and one other stop. For Carnival Fantasy the other stop is Freeport (not much of a stop IMO) and for the Sovereign the other stop is Coco Cay (their private island).

I've noticed that beginning the first of the year the SOS will be shifting their schedule to Monday-Friday morning and Friday-Monday morning for 4 and 3 day cruises.